It is known in the art to retain a folded belt in a package separate from a surgical gown or attached to the gown. Rotanz's U.S. Pat. No. 3,359,569 issued on Dec. 26, 1967 discloses a belt retained by a folded overwrap separate from the surgical gown. On the other hand Hartigan's U.S. Pat. No. 3,648,290 issued on Mar. 14, 1972 teaches a belt package attached to the gown that serves as a belt loop when the belt is in use. In Hartigan the belt ends may be folded back against themselves or against the belt package possibly with one end portion overlapping the other. Hartigan points out that this folding pattern is useful in that it causes the belt end portions to stand out from the gown after the gown has been unfolded and placed on a doctor, presenting tabs available for grasping. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,594,818 to Planner issued on July 27, 1971 and 3,570,012 to Winters issued on Mar. 16, 1971 also disclose belt packages attached to surgical gowns.
It is known to secure the belt package freely around the folded belt so that the belt is retained only by friction between itself and the package. If a tubular belt package is used as in Hartigan the unfolded belt is permitted to slide through the package so that the belt position can be adjusted around the waist of the doctor. A patent to Johnson (U.S. Pat. No. 3,059,240 issued on Oct. 23, 1962) teaches a cantilevered connection of a belt to a dress to allow vertical adjustment of belt position.
The prior art also discloses means to prevent contamination of the belt during the donning process. For example Hartigan and U.S. Pat. No. 3,987,518 to Collins issued on Oct. 26, 1976 disclose protective covers for a belt end. The protective cover can be grasped to unfold the belt and then removed and disposed of after use. Similarly a patent to Taylor (U.S. Pat. No. 3,696,433 issued on Oct. 10, 1972) teaches a belt end portion grasped by a circulating nurse which is removable due to slits made across the width of the belt.
The prior art does not disclose a means for securing the belt ends in an easily accessible position. Nor does the prior art disclose such a means which also protects a detachable belt end. This disclosure describes a means for securing and folding belt ends so as to overcome these deficiencies in the prior art.